Tanya Batson-Savage, Freelance Writer
WITH THE exception of the last few hold outs, communism is effectively dead. So, as Pierre Lemaire says in his director's notes to Animal Farm, one would think that this would make George Orwell's allegorical fable of the Russian revolution seem irrelevant. But, as Lemaire also says, it is clearly not.
Under Lemaire's direction, Peter Hall's adaptation of Orwell's fable is currently taking the stage at the Denis Scott Studio Theatre as a School of Drama, Edna Manley College for the Visual and Performing Arts production. It continues through to this weekend.
Despite the near departure of communism, Animal Farm remains relevant because it is not merely about one kind of political regime. It is about the political animal itself. To bear the brunt of the cliché, it is about how power corrupts and even how people allow themselves to be abused by their government by simply accepting the propaganda peddled to them. This remains true whether it be communism or 'bushism' or 'blockroadism'.
Orwell's tale is particularly gripping because it manages to balance the seemingly innocent story of an animal revolution while losing none of its political potency. Lemaire's production stays quite true to this. First, in taking the guise of a musical, to depict this barnyard tale, the illusion of simplicity is further maintained.
HUMOUR
Animal Farm combines some humour with what is clearly cutting political insight and the use of propaganda in the form of distortion of history, the arts, and the creation of iconography.
This rendition of Animal Farm plays into its lighter elements, but it does not shy away from the political overtures and the ironic and satiric elements are well explored. Yet, the performances leave something to be desired.
The main animals, Boxer (Mervin Spence), Napoleon (Michelle Serieux), Snowball (Leslie Ann Bernard) and Molly (Carolyn Lee) are competently played. The narrator (Alwyn Allen) also gives a fair performance, although he was not always able to mask when he forgot his lines. Alas, while there is clear intent to keep to the animal nature of the characters, the walks are far too generic, with the most distinctive feature being the pig's wiggle.
Costuming is kept relatively simple with masks and jump suits with extra-long arms to give something of the illusion of being four-legged. Yet the masks make the performances that much harder. By covering half the faces, all the expression is left to bodies and voices, and most of the players are unable to use this to full effect.
Cecile Strudwick - Green does a good job with the music which is not merely interesting, but goes a good way towards keeping the illusion of a light fable, without eroding the politics. Yet, Animal Farm is not all it could be. Despite its political potential, it simply is not a particularly powerful rendition. It is so, because competent performances are not enough to allow these characters to nest in the imagination the way the novel allows them to. It is however, a reasonably enjoyable rendition.
